The Co-operative is campaigning for a clean energy revolution. As part of this campaign we're calling for a moratorium on the development of shale gas and 'fracking' in the UK.
What is shale gas and why are we campaigning?
Shale gas is a type of natural gas. It is extracted by injecting millions of litres of water, chemicals and sand into shale, a layer of rock under the ground, which then fractures and releases the gas. Shale gas has previously been technologically hard to extract and therefore termed 'unconventional'.
The exploitation of shale gas, like tar sands, risks pushing us into a period of dangerous climate change. Serious questions have also been raised about the process of extracting shale gas - called hydraulic fracturing or 'fracking' - given its potential to contaminate groundwater.
Read more about our position on shale gas and fracking.
More resources
You'll find useful downloads and reports on shale gas and fracking on our resources page.
Get involved:
- Contact your MP to ask that they support our call for a moratorium on shale gas development in the UK.
- Watch short films from our community events and interviews with people from impacted UK communities.
- Watch Gasland - we supported the UK cinema release of the Oscar-nominated and Emmy award-winning film, Gasland, which highlights the impacts of fracking activities on the local environment in the United States. A shortened version is being shown at our community events. Watch the trailer below or visit the official Gasland website for details of screenings.
Gasland trailer